Christie rips Boehner, GOP over delay in Sandy aid

Saying Republican leaders in the House treated New Jerseyans suffering in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy like “pawns on a chessboard,” Gov. Chris Christie today lashed out at House Speaker John Boehner and others for failing to pass a $60 billion post-Sandy aid bill.

New Jersey’s citizenry was betrayed by a duplicitous Congress, Christie said during an afternoon press conference held specifically to blast the House’s inaction on Sandy aid. He said the need for the aid overcame all factual challenges but “just could not overcome the toxic internal politics of the House majority.”

“Americans are tired of the palace intrigue and political partisanship of this Congress, which places one-upsmanship ahead of the lives of the citizens who sent these people to Washington, D.C. in the first place,” Christie said. “New Jerseyans and New Yorkers are tired of being treated like second-class citizens. New York deserved better than the selfishness we saw on display last night. New Jersey deserves better than the duplicity we saw on display last night. America deserves better than just another example of a government that has forgotten who they are there to serve and why. Sixty-six days and counting. Shame on you. Shame on Congress.”

“It’s absolutely disgraceful,” Christie said later. “This used to be something that was not political. Disaster relief was something that you didn’t play games with, but now in this current atmosphere, everything is a subject of one-upsmanship, everything is a possibility, a potential piece of bait for the political game. It is why the American people hate Congress. It’s why they hate them.”

No one has given him a “substantive, credible reason” for the failure to vote on the bill, Christie said, singling out Boehner for the most pointed criticism.

Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the new House, to be sworn in tomorrow, will vote on flood insurance funding Friday.

“Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress, and that was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations,” a statement from Boehner and Cantor said. “The House will vote Friday to direct needed resources to the National Flood Insurance Program. And on January 15th, the first full legislative day of the 113th Congress, the House will consider the remaining supplemental request for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.”

Christie during his news conference recounted the number of days between other destructive hurricanes and the approval of aid by Congress – 10 days after Katrina in 2005, 17 days after Gustav in 2008 and Ike, 31 days after Andrew in 1992. Sandy’s victims are now waiting 66 days and counting, he said.

“There’s only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims – the House majority and their speaker, John Boehner,” Christie said.

“This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. Natural disasters happen in red states and blue states, in states with Democratic governors and Republican governors. We respond to innocent victims of natural disasters not as Republicans or Democrats but as Americans. Or at least we did, until last night,” Christie said. “Last night, politics was placed before our oath to serve our citizens. For me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch.”

The governor said he had received assurances as late as 9 p.m. Tuesday that the bill would be voted on, and he had confidence that it would pass.

The inaction enraged him.

“Do your job, and come through for the people of this country,” Christie said.

The governor said the House leadership — apparently Boehner specifically, who wouldn’t return four late-night phone calls from Christie, the governor said — failed to uphold its oath of office to put the citizenry before “petty personal politics.”

“Last night, the House of Representatives failed that most basic test of public service, and they did so with callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state,” Christie said.

Christie’s voice was the latest in a bipartisan parade of officials incensed over the failure to call a vote on the bill in the House. Republican and Democratic members of the Senate, House and New Jersey Legislature all pummeled Boehner and the Republicans.